Manic Miserable Monday

I am miserable. Because I hate my new job.

It's also possible that I don't actually care that much one way or the other about my new job, or about my old job, and that I am only miserable because it's Monday.

I would probably not be miserable if I were at home. I hate coming to the office. It is like, way too far away from Assassin's Creed II.

-t

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Reading

This 'pie crust the super easy way' article (from kottke) intersperses CAPS for yelling.

With all the YELLING about PIES it sounded a lot like an Amazo post to me. (Which is, apparently, all the Amazo we can expect these days)

Today's Dining section brings a roundup of holiday dinner recipes for you wussbags who are too lazy or scared to make desserts with crusts. "Is it Thanksgiving if there is no traditional pie with a traditional filling and a crust that the cook obviously fussed and worried over?" asks Florence Fabrikant. The answer is obviously: NO, YOU HORRIBLE MONSTER, IT IS NOT. (link)

-t

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Happy Dan Goldin Day!

Happy Dan Goldin Day 2009, everyone! I hope you're all reading this post from home with a drink in front of you, or over a pint at your local watering hole, having skipped out on work to honor the decision by the Boston University Trustees to grant a day off to the students of Boston Uniersity after awarding, and then rescinding, a contract to ex-NASA Mr. Dan Goldin, and obligating themselves to payout $1.8 million for breach of that contract. (full career summation here)

For those readers interested, here is a partial list of cities celebrating DGD '09: (east to west)

Boston, MA
Stoneham, MA
Manchester, NH
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Baltimore, MD
Birmingham, AL
Milwaukee, WI (observed 11/20/09)
Arlington, TX
Lawton, OK
Seattle, WA
Te Anua, NZ
Mackay, AU
London, GB
Dublin, IE


Celebrating in a city not on the list? Let me know in the comments! We're still missing Eastern Europe, South America, all of Africa, Asia, and I'm still waiting to hear from you Antarticans!

Too ditching work, and getting paid!

-Tom

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The Hottest Dan Goldin Day On Record

We are less than a week away from Dan Goldin Day 2009!

The 2009 Observance Calendar is a little bit wonky due to the conflicting local customs, mid-week holiday, and gas boiler installation.

So, as a public service to all DGD celebrants, I present the following, official, Dan Goldin Day Observance Calendar 2009, please update your Dilbert or Farside November pages accordingly based on your location or circumstance:




A brief explanation:

Monday, Nov. 16th Dan Goldin Day (Traditional Observation) - International and Domestic* celebration of the holiday on the nearest Monday or Friday to encourage three-day weekend.

Tuesday, Nov. 17th - Dan Goldin Day (Founder's Observation) The happy coincidence of DGD and scheduled installation of a brand new gas boiler in my home provides a dual excuse to ditch work on Tuesday, which means a happy holiday for everyone who lives at my address.

Friday, Nov. 20 - Dan Goldin Day (Traditional Observation, Milwaukee) - Milwaukeers observe DGD on the nearest Friday to maximize the opportunity for missing a brewery tour, eating fried fish, and listening to a live polka band.

*Celebrated domestically in all locations that are not observing Milwaukee or Founder's DGD


Please contact your local Dan Goldin Day ambassadors for information regarding organized Dan Goldin Day activities including parade route and start times, as well as regulations for DGD float construction and municipal permits.

-T

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Because Matt Nathanson Covered Romeo & Juliet By Dire Straits

How I spent my day:

coverlaydown.com

It's a blog dedicated to collecting and promoting folk and bluegrass covers of popular songs (and also other folk and bluegrass songs). Covers are awesome.

"Sometimes you hear something and you think to yourself, 'That song is so good, I wish I'd written it' and that's why the cover was invented" -Rob Thomas

Covers can be hilarious. Who can forget The Gourds Gin 'N Juice? (cue illicit youtube copy!)

Or the classic Dynamite Hack version of Boyz N Da Hood!

BUT, those are just for starters. The real magic starts when good artists cover good songs. There's a reason Dire Straits' Romeo & Juliet has been covered eight hundred times: it's a Great Song. (Incidentally, it's also got the best ending to a music video ever:

Right?) (Yes, that was a parenthetical video embed)


Anyway, here are some favorites which are included in the coverlaydown archives. (In reverse chronological order) (and I'm not hyperlinking, you'll have to click though to the oringal post (which all have plenty of other covers))

-Elanor Rigby, The Beatles covered by Butch Ross
-Chelsea Hotel No. 2, Leonard Coehn covered by Regina Spektor
-True Colors, Cyndi Lauper covered by Caroline Herring
-Atlantic City, Bruce Springsteen covered by The Band (the post has 7 other Boss covers)
-Come Sail Away, Styx covered by Jonathan Rundman (not especially great, but I'm including here it for Donny)
-Jump, Van Halen covered by Mary Lou Lord
-Oops, I Did It Again, Britney Spears, covered by Laura Tsaggaris
-Nothing Compares To You, Prince covered by Ben Taylor (son of James Taylor)(saddest song on the list)

And, the best cover I found today:

-Stairway to Heaven, Led Zepplin covered by Dolly Parton.

-t

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I REALLY Love Science

We are going to live to be eight hundred years old

http://www.discoveryon.info/2009/10/switch-to-reverse-biological-clock.html

-t

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Drunk Physics Work!

I love science (via xckd) because ideas as drunk-sounding-crazy as the space fountain have a realistic grounding in physics. Screw the moon base. I'm building a space fountain over Disneyworld.

-t

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Dread Pirate Roberts

Three days into my lateral promotion and things are starting to pick up. Management has decided to roll out a new break report which I'll be responsible for starting on Monday, and we're spending the week training for research and break resolution.

Also, I have Friday off to go golfing.

Other quick hits:
(1) I'm digging the New England Coffee Chocolate Cappucino flavor
(2) I haven't been to Dunkin' Donuts in over a month
(3) The ping pong table and my couch are now residing happily in my basement (so all is right with the feng-shui universe)
(4) and pretty soon we'll be replacing our heating system!

So I am now poor.
-t

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How Else Would A Phone Sound?

My manager called a group-wide meeting for this afternoon, today's the big day! Lateral promotion! Woo!

I am, in reality, much more excited than I should be about getting to work on a new group of funds.

There is, really, very little actually changing.
(1) new funds
(2) new manager

That's it. I'm not even changing desks (which is stupid, I'm two rows away from the rest of the group, but the difficulties in transferring a phone line from one desk to another in this building are, apparently, insurmountable. Folks go years under the wrong name in a directory even after an approved switch.

I don't really understand it, they're not physically running new phone lines or splicing wires to a different cubicle. They just have to update the directory and switchboard which is (or should be) saved on some database on a server in the IT department.

gr8thanxbai

Something like "Find: Tom" then "ReplaceLocation: 12F76, 14GH5" (I assume each cubicle has an undecipherable code referencing some 3D seating plan) and "ReassignExtension: 5-4433, 5-4843"

Right? I bet, in real phone systems, those three commands are all folded into one. It's all software (or should be). There shouldn't be a need to move hardware at all. And even if there is, the phone itself should be able to talk to the server routing calls. "Sup, router, it's Calvin, serial no. 12345558133463LB0.54 Here's the 411: I'm at a new desk! Send any calls 4 me this way now, k? gr8thanxbai"

Right? Easy. (Yes, my phone's name is Calvin)

Ok, so I wasn't planning on a phone rant. Sorry about that. The point is: Change!

-t

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Breaking News: August 2009

Dude! The Gin Blossoms are awesome!



-t

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Thinking About Making 'Job!' My New Catchword

I got a new job! Sort of!Lacking the associated title change and pay raise! So, more of a transfer, really...

Job!

I'll be moving from my supervisory role in this group to a more hands-on role in a similar group which handles slightly more difficult funds.

An unexpected benefit of the change is the news that I will be working with my old boss from my very first job!*

Details to follow.

-t

*note to longtime readers: not hypermanager, but his boss, Mike, who was cool, moved to New York, and came back to Boston.

Repost Reader Participation Week!

I invite new readers to the blog and twitter followers to enjoy this marvellous movie meme and submit your answers! I still can't believe no one has answered #5!

Originally posted here!

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Quotes Game (via Eileen)

(a) Post one quote from each of your 15 favorite movies.
(b) When a reader guesses the movie correctly, post their name and strike the quote.
(c) Memory/guesswork only.

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01. I can be in the NBA. I'm tall, I like to wear shorts. Hook! Hook! Dunk! Dunk! Baby, I'm all about three points [Good Will Hunting] Eileen

02. Tell me about an ambush. I ambushed you with a cup of coffee! [Ronin] Hetherjw

03. Watch out, the yellow ones don't stop! [Elf] Eileen

04. Metaman, express elevator! Dynaguy, snagged on takeoff! Splashdown, sucked into a vortex! No capes! [The Incredibles] Laura

05. I believe it our fate to be here. It is our destiny. I believe this night holds for each and every one of us, the very meaning of our lives.

06. Three-two-six three-eight-two-seven!

07. Now when I created the World... [Newsies] Zoe (!)

08. So you're telling me there's a chance! [Dumb and Dumber] Eileen

09. 'La ola es mia.' 'the wave is mine'...I spoke Spanish in my dream! [Airborne] Dan

10. With friends like you who needs friends?

11. Why would a reviewer make the point of saying someone's *not* a genius? Do you especially think I'm *not* a genius? You didn't even have to think about it, did you?

12. Only when I cease to breathe will I be dead,

13. I may not make an honest buck, but I'm 100% American...

14. We were taxiing out to the runway, right? And we, you know, we kind of hit a moose. No, the moose is fine, but we gotta make sure that the plane's all right, so some of the boys are pushing it back so these guys can take a look at it. Patti, the moose is okay. He ran off. I saw it. [Miracle] Heather

15. Now get back to the stands before I shave off half your mustache and shove it up your left nostril.[Bad News Bears] Dan

[Bonus quote: same movie as #15: "Those Yankees are real turds."]

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-t

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Dan Goldin Day Prep

We are two months away from DGD '09 and I want to make sure everyone is ready!

For a brief history of Dan Golding Day please refer to the previous posts on this blog (here). I would direct you to Dan Goldin's wikipedia page, but the "editors" keep deleting my updates. [UPDATE - holy crap! "Dan Goldin Day" is a sub-head on the wikipedai page!]

In brief: DG got paid for, basically, not showing up for work as BU prez, and we, the students, got a day off from school for his parade, even after it was cancelled, which gave me an extra day to study for an insane math exam, which I then passed, allowing me to graduate, then get job, buy things, etc.

To celebrate, simply take the day off work, and have a drink in Dan Goldin's honor, to commemorate those times when not showing up for work works out the best for everyone involved.

This year November 17th falls on a Tuesday, so the official observation of DGD will be Monday, October 16, 2009.

For those of you who cannot take a day off, feign sickness, or call out, I recommend a long lunch instead, heavily lubricated by alcohol.

One final note on the expansion of DGD internationally, this year we expect to be celebrating not only in the DGD bastions of old (Boston MA, Milwaukee WI) and new (Philadelphia PA, Baltimore MD), but a few new American cities (Lawton OK, Seattle WA) and at least one international city (Dublin IRE).

For those readers celebrating in a town I have not mentioned above, please drop me a line in the comments and I will be sure to add your city to the DGD roster. (I'm talking to you Londoners, Kiwis, and Antartic Station researchers who love reading the blog and skipping out on work for the flimsiest of reasons.)

Happy Dan Goldin Day 2009, everyone!

-t

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Eire: A Quick Recap

I started typing a list. This is by no means complete. Also, there are pictures. Lots and lots and lots of pictures.

1. Everything was green. As green as the postcards, posters, pictures, brochures, stories, videos, and eye-witness accounts attest; That green.


2. It does rain sometimes, just not on me. The climate seems to be what I would expect Seattle to be like: overcast, ocassionally drizzly, and cool.


3. Also, there are cattle and sheep everywhere. Everywhere.


4. I think it's a shame newer, bigger roadways are being constructed across the country. You don't need new roads. You can walk it.


5. I hate American tourists. I have hated American tourists since my first trip abroad, and they have not grown any less loathsome as I have matured.


6. Everyone in Ireland knows someone in Boston, or has lived in Boston.


7. High Tea at the Shelbourne was awesome.


8. All the Irish people we met were very nice. Most had awesome accents.


9. Dublin is tiny. Tiny like Boston is tiny. Tiny like, I could walk across it in ten minutes.


10. Most tourists go to Ireland to track down relatives/ancestry/genealogical records. Irish comedians amuse themsevelves by misdirecting these people to other parts of the island.


11. The number of Dunkin Donuts in Boston is fewer than the number of castle ruins in Shannon, which is fewer than the number of tanning salons and "adult" toy shops on any given street in Dublin.


12. Guiness is cheaper than Carlsberg in Ireland. This is something that should have been obvious to me before I saw the bill.


13. Guiness is owned by a mulitnational beverage conglomerate, not based in Ireland. Guiness is still delicious, though.


14. Entirely too many Irish folks drink Budweiser, Bud Light, and, [blech] Coors Light.


15. Sweaters of Irish wool are exceptionally warm.


16. The Liffey was pretty. Don't touch it.


17. Public transportation is significantly cleaner, and more punctual, than the MBTA.


18. The US dollar is weak!


19. Hurling is awesome. And easier to explain than cricket. Which still makes more sense than Australian football.

Thanks a million.
-t

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Dan Goldin Day On The Emerald Isle

In preparation for my impending trip to the Emerald Isle I am trying to immerse myself in all things Irish, and, as the trip came together very last-minute I wasn't left the time for some long-term study or prolonged build-up of materials, instead I'm doing as much as I can as fast as I can. Like the night before an exam.

Modern technology, it turns out, is the perfect tool for this sort of high-speed, last-minute, cultural skimming.

So, I've changed my homepage from google.com to google.ie, following random twitter feeds published by anyone within two degrees of longitude of Limerick (oconlan), subscribed to a number of blogs authored by Dubliners (like Eclectic Micks) and non-Dubliners as well (culch.ie)

[Which is where I heard this cover of The Beatles Come Together which I had never heard before.]

I've also been creating new Pandora stations seeded with Irish bands, specifically The Dubliners, and The Young Dubliners, where I found this, hilarious, song:



I'm going to read the collected works of James Joyce tomorrow.

-t

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Follow @Up

On the other hand, there's twitter.

And different fingers.

-t

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Past Glories

I'm pretty sure there's a whole section of my brain devoted solely to being awesome on IM.

Consider the evidence.

I'm also convinced this part of my brain shuts down when I'm not IMing. I believe an entire quarter of my cranium has been dark since March of 2008.

*UPDATE* -- Ok, ok, ignore the above link and just jump to this comment thread, which is a better summary than I could give.

-t

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How To Find Awesome Pictures Of Things

I was browsing my RSS feeds, as I usually do when I get to work, and began to read this article on the isb.

Which led me here: ...

Ok, I closed the window I though had led me places, but, turns out, nothing linked to where I thought it did. It could have started anywhere along the line.

Click around online and you're bound to find an awesome picture of something. Case in point:


-t

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Reason No.? (I've Lost Count)

Another item for the "Reasons To Hate My Job" list:

(?) Email like this:

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To: Tom, our hero
From: Another Stupid Coworker

Is there any updates regarding the below?

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A bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for having this jobs. Subject/verb agreement are not one.

GAH.

-t

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Big Brother Update

Gmail was blocked, ages ago - and along with it, gchat - but, with google widgety things on the google homepage I could, at least, still view my inbox (the 10 most recent emails received, which is better than nothing).

Then, they blocked twitter.

Today, however, when I signed into my personalized google homepage (with Batman theme!) the gmail widget was blocked! Unbelievable.

I can't even read the subject line of the first ten emails in my inbox anymore!

And when I mentioned it to a coworker they informed me that youtube is also blocked! And not the homepage, either. Get this: You can access youtube.com and you can type a query into the search bar, and search, and view search results, but, if you click on a video to watch any of your results, BAM! BLOCKED!

due to

not kidding

"violence"

Which, maaaaybe makes sense for the NFL video the coworker was trying to watch (not really, it was Michael Vick's press conference, but it could be all NFL=violence)

it does NOT make sense for the next video he tried to pull up: THESE ADORABLE KITTENS!

which I can't embed because the access through youtube is blocked.

Google video is still available, which is why I can post this


[brief aside: Every one of the crazy protestors should have been handled in this same way. Testament to the first amendment, indeed!]



In conclusion: I fear it is only a matter of time before igoogle itself is blocked, and then, most worryingly, google reader. And after that? Who knows.

Which sucks, because this is not the economic climate I want to be in while looking for a new job.

-t

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